I'm a typical AquarianI don't believe in horoscopes which is why I downloaded mine from the Observer Magazine this morning.

Aquarius 20 Jan-19 Feb: Other people are a mystery sometimes, n'est-ce pas? Even more bafflingly, it's the ones with whom you are tightest who most confound expectations. Use the next couple of days to make clear what is mutually expected; after that, the wires are likely to get hopelessly tangled. Money is, as is its way, high up on the agenda, but with one of your planets, Saturn, so well sited, practical issues bend to your intention.

And it's spot on. With full-time employment replacing eighteen months of freelance under-employment, tomorrow's the day I get to sign on the dotted line, having first donned my binoculars to read the small print. And I already know that some negotiations are pending. Three or four Australians have been recruited. Apart from their pommie bashing, I've no objection to them as colleagues. In fact I think I should pause here to say G'day to all my antipodean colonial cousins.

What I do object to, however, is the notion that expats recruited abroad should be paid more than local recruits doing the same job. My incoming colleagues have all got Indonesian experience; in fact cross-cultural awareness is a major factor in our recruitment as the positions involve mentoring of our local colleagues. And that is how it should be. Sharing and caring are, for Jakartass, essential qualities in the human experience. (It is Sunday, so please excuse a little preaching.)

Having lived here for more than 16 years, without the safety net of social security and/or unemployment benefit, I do know a lot about how to survive in Jakarta. I can find my way around the city by public transport, know where, outside the housing enclaves for the rich and the kampungs, it is reasonably pleasant for we 'rich', in terms of our salaries, to live as part of the local community.

So, why should newcomers receive extra financial benefits, often termed 'hardship allowances'? Because they have financial obligations back in their home countries is the usual response. Well, so do most of us who have chosen to stay here. I contributed a pittance to my English son's university education costs but my parental obligation could not be completely fulfilled following the arrival of krismon. Yep, those of us who have continued to offer our skills and knowledge through Indonesia's recent history are the ones who know about hardship.